NEW YORK, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Mutual has topped every local and regional bank in the country in winning a golden EFFIE Award for its highly successful "Merge with Washington Mutual" marketing campaign, the company said today.
The EFFIE, short for effectiveness, is among the most coveted awards in the advertising/marketing industry. Entries are judged by a panel of national marketing experts and advertising executives.
Judges cited the "Merge" campaign's solid results and creativity in making their selection. Advertising firm McCann-Erickson Seattle created the campaign. During the eight months of the 1992 campaign, Washington Mutual attracted nearly 55,000 new households to Washington Mutual and established more than 94,000 additional financial relationships with the bank's existing customer base.
Television and radio spots, billboards, and print and transit ads focused on the advantages of banking with a locally managed, independently owned consumer bank. Humorous television commercials explained there's no good reason not to merge with Washington Mutual. In one, a retiree with sunglasses said he liked banking with a California bank because the state needed money to buy sushi, surfboards and liposuction, among other things.
Washington Mutual won the award in the EFFIE Awards' Financial Services (Regional/Local) Category, topping two other contenders: Citibank of New York and California Federal Bank of Los Angeles.
Deanna Oppenheimer, Washington Mutual's executive vice president for corporate relations, and Jim Copacino, McCann-Erickson's senior vice president, accepted the award at a ceremony in New York late Thursday.
Serving the financial needs of Northwest consumers since 1889, Washington Mutual is the largest local, independent bank in Washington and the largest consumer bank in the Northwest.
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/CONTACT: Roger Nyhus of Washington Mutual Savings Bank, 206-461-6390/
(WAMU)